What's with Ottawa's love-hate relationship with roundabouts?
They're statistically safe, according to a city engineer, but pedestrians worry
Ottawa has 85 roundabouts, which earns it second place for the number of roundabouts in a Canadian city, just behind Calgary.
The roundabouts are popping up more and more in Ottawa's suburbs as an alternative to traditional intersections controlled by traffic lights.
But despite being so commonplace, they remain contentious.
As CBC's This Is Ottawa found out, the safety concerns aren't necessarily backed up by statistics.
How do roundabouts work?
When approaching a roundabout, drivers are expected to slow down, yield the right of way to pedestrians and cars already within the roundabout, travel in a counter-clockwise direction, stay in the same lane until exiting, and signal their intentions.
The City of Ottawa has a webpage dedicated on the ins and outs. Its video on roundabout use is one of its most viewed.
Why so many?
According to Emmett Proulx, a specialist in development review and roadway modification at the City of Ottawa, they aren't as dangerous as one might think.
The City of Ottawa has a policy to consider roundabouts when it's looking at a new intersection or at upgrading an intersection due to capacity issues, he said.
If an intersection in need of a facelift meets the criteria for turning it into a roundabout, such as available space for the lanes required, the city will give that option preference.
The city does this because roundabouts often improve overall traffic flow, create fewer opportunities for vehicles to hit pedestrians, and require drivers to slow down.
According to Proulx, emissions at each roundabout are down about 30 per cent from the idling and stop-and-go traffic of an intersection with a traffic light.
And while they're more expensive to install, roundabouts don't require the long-term electrical maintenance or repairs that traffic lights do after accidents.
Why the pushback?
While roundabouts may be a preferred option from the city, those who have seen close calls still worry.
In April, about a hundred people showed up to a public meeting to protest a new roundabout in Orléans. Construction began in August, and is expected to wrap up in summer 2025.
Heather O'Connell's children attend school nearby. She said she's worried about their safety.
"I've seen buses take roundabouts before and they often clip the sidewalk or they clip the side of the roundabout itself, she said. "I think that's a danger."
In September, a cyclist died after being injured at a roundabout in Ottawa's west end.
Despite this, evidence suggests roundabouts in the United States see a 78 per cent reduction in fatal collisions compared to intersections controlled by traffic lights.
Proulx said while he also gets nervous about the safety of his own children, the single-lane roundabout is statistically much safer.
"I understand people's concerns," he said. "But I have to say [those concerns are] not accurate at all."
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